Palmerton board is told that cuts hurt

Teachers say losing 3 workers damaged computers, security.

April 09, 2003|By David Slade Of The Morning Call

Last year, the Palmerton Area School Board trimmed a $70,000 technology director and $36,000 for two security guards from the district's budget.

On Tuesday the board heard reports from teachers describing a districtwide technology system plagued with problems, and a high school where thefts have become common and smoking and vandalism have returned to the restrooms.

Most alarming was the technology report.

To get a sense of the reported state of the district's technology systems, consider a description of efforts to produce a brochure promoting the district's technology program.

"The technology brochure was created and distributed early in 2001; however, it could not be distributed at the course selection meetings in February 2002 because all computers were reformatted in the summer of 2001 and the software was not reinstalled until March of 2002," business teacher Karen Bernaski told the board.

"The 2003 brochure is currently being finalized; however, the necessary printer has not been made available to the business department staff."

She told the board the only computer lab in the school library was out of commission for five weeks because of a lack of printer toner, and few students have been able to take advantage of a Microsoft Office Specialist certification program because of technology problems.

Some computers don't have enough memory to run certain software programs. Others must be restarted frequently, interrupting class time, and when a student has a problem with a computer password, a week can pass before it's resolved, Bernaski said.

She said communication between teachers and the people making technology decisions is poor, and as an example she cited the installation of a new operating system in a computer lab four days before the end of a semester, which then forced teachers to re-create several final exams.

School board members have raised questions about the coherence of the district's $100,000-a-year technology program before.

"What I want to know is is there anybody alive who can help straighten out our technology program?" said School Director Robert Jakoubek on Tuesday.

Superintendent Robert Foster said Assistant Superintendent Tom Davis, who was put in charge of district technology last year, is working to address the problems.

"Their report was correct and candid and on target," Foster said, though he disputed the idea of rampant thefts in the high school.

"The bottom line is people are unhappy," he said. "It's going to take money to solve the problems, and that's not a popular subject this year."

Several district residents reminded the school board Tuesday that Carbon County's unemployment rate now sits above 10 percent, and urged the board to trim district expenses at budget time next month.